News Briefs: Portable Restroom Company Fined for Illegal Dumping

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A portable restroom company in Natrona County, Wyoming, is facing penalties for illegally dumping waste into a sewer system several times over the past year.

According to a report by K2 Radio, the Wardwell Water & Sewer District’s board of directors voted to shut off the water supply to Shawn’s Johns after the third violation. The water was later restored on the promise that the water was used for residential purposes only.

After the first violation last year, when a district manager witnessed the company disposing of waste directly into the sewer system, the Central Wyoming Regional Water System installed a flowmeter downstream from Shawn’s Johns.

More complaints were received and flowmeter data revealed more illegal dumping in April 2018. Owner Shawn Nash ignored notices and missed court dates, and he was subsequently fined.

Nash also missed more recent court appearances in July and now has been fined for both administrative and civil violations. The fines total $49,500 and do not include the cost of cleaning out the sewer lines.

After a July 9 hearing, it was reported that Kyle Ridgeway, attorney for the Water & Sewer District, says he isn’t qualified to state whether the violations pose a threat to human health, but that the case may warrant an investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Thousands of Gallons of Restroom Waste Dumped in Ditch

An estimated 5,500 gallons of portable toilet waste was discovered in a ditch that flows to Mallard Creek near the PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, North Carolina.

According to the Charlotte Observer, county officials who received calls about the waste believe it was intentionally dumped.

A Sani-Can, the company that provides portable restrooms to PNC parking lots for events, denies that the waste was dumped intentionally or spilled by their drivers, but workers from the company still helped clean up and were spotted pumping waste from the ditch.

Rusty Rozzelle, the water quality program manager for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services, says it appears the creek won’t be negatively affected. “We think a very small quantity made it to the creek, if any at all, because we haven't had any rain," Rozzelle tells WSOC TV.